Never a Day Goes By
by Antharyn
Summary: Shuuhei wondered if it was wrong to stare at his comrade and friend the way he was staring at Kira now


**Title:** Never a Day Goes By  
**Author:** Antharyn**Pairing:** Hisagi Shuuhei/Kira Izuru  
**Rating: **G because I'm boring like that.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach. I just borrow the characters and make them do my nasty bidding. X3

**Notes:** Just a short fic of my OTP. I am SO bad at writing fluff and angst combined but more love to this pairing is worth the effort.

Shuuhei wondered if it was wrong to stare at his comrade and friend the way he was staring at Kira now, the way he had been staring at Kira for a very long time; Kira who had long gone past the point of tipsiness and was leaning against the wall, fast asleep.

There were dark circles around his eyes and he was paler than usual despite the rosy glow on his skin that was alcohol-induced. And Hisagi was probably just imagining it but he thought the other lieutenant had lost weight as well.

Looking at Kira now, Hisagi realized the younger shinigami couldn't have been a farther cry from the young, ambitious student he had encountered back at the Academy; Kira who had always studied harder than anyone else and had laughed disbelievingly when Hisagi told him he had in him to make at least Vice-Captaincy.

When was the last time he had heard Kira laugh? The night of his graduation when he and Kira had escaped the tangle of well-wishers and alcohol to share a quiet moment out in the garden as friends? Or when he stole Kira away from the 3rd Division Headquarters to celebrate the younger shinigami's becoming a Vice-Captain?

Too long ago. Far too long ago.

He cursed and downed his sake, his _ochok__o_ slamming back down on the table harder than he would have liked but Kira didn't stir.

After all this time, his feelings for the younger shinigami had not abated but one week after Aizen's betrayal had him wondering if this was the same man he had called a friend during his Academy days; the same Kira who had talked or listened to him for hours on end and the same Kira with whom he had somehow always felt a strong attraction to, though when it began he didn't know.

A soft breeze blew through the open window, ruffling Kira's blonde hair and he suppressed the urge to tuck it back into place.

From the back of his mind came the memory of a younger Kira, fresh from the Academy, prattling on about Captain Aizen and Vice Captain Ichimaru, probably already conspiring against all of _Seireitei_, and about Abarai and Hinamori. His blonde hair swayed with the wind as he told an enamored Hisagi of his experiences, of his dreams of becoming at least fourth-seat.

Kira had been so happy then; so full of life, surpassing his own goals.

Now he was a man defeated, a man who seemed to have lost his purpose; one who couldn't bear to sit in the office where he had believed all the lies and so blindly followed his former Captain but felt he had no other place to go.

_You could have come to me_, he wanted to say, slamming his newly emptied cup on the table again. _I lost my Captain, too. I know what it's like._

But of course Kira would never believe him and Hisagi would have to wait for Kira to come to him.

And Hisagi _would_ because Kira needed his space and he was never one to deny the blonde anything, except maybe the truth that one time the younger shinigami had been too drunk to remember kissing him at one of the 11th Division's wilder parties.

His lips quirked at the memory and then he sighed because a memory was all it was.

Behind him Matsumoto, unaware of his turmoil, got shakily to her feet and started towards the door.

"I'll be going ahead, Hisagi-kun." She slurred walking past the two men seated at the table. "I don't think Taichou would approve of me getting so drunk at this time of day." She grinned at him.

"You'll take care of him, won't you?" She gestured to the slumbering Kira then regarded him intently.

Hisagi nodded and quietly said he would. He always had.

She smiled, never taking her eyes off him. "Just give him some time, Shuuhei."

Maybe she wasn't as oblivious as he thought.

He looked away from her clear blue eyes and flushed. "Of course, Matsumoto-san."

She smiled at him again even though he wasn't looking at her then closed the door as she left.

He listened to her footsteps fade away. Across the table Kira sighed softly in his sleep.

With a sigh of his own, Hisagi poured himself some more sake and continued to stare.

**END.**


End file.
